“You Are Ugly, Dumb, Stupid (Verbal Abuse)

Name-calling does hurt children especially when the person doing it is a parent, teacher, or someone they look up to. Calling children names is often used as a means of discipline. This can cause emotional trauma that leads to long term harm to children.

Verbal abuse involves:

· Name-calling, belittling, insulting, and swearing

· Indirect criticism, such as disapproving of the child to someone else

· Rejecting the child (I wish you were never born)

· Threatening your child

· Blaming the child (you are the reason why my life is a mess)

· Making sarcastic comments

Children who experience verbal abuse generally have low self-esteem, experience suicide ideation, have a delay in their development, and often become abusive later in life. Parents, caregivers, educators get a handle on your outbursts. Practice speaking positive words to the children. Evaluate if you were victims of verbal abuse and seek help from a counsellor. Verbal abuse is destructive to children.